Video contradicts police report of Rhode Island cop’s assault of black man he dragged from his car, knelt on his neck, punched and kicked, while responding to domestic dispute involving a different man
Providence Police Sgt Joseph Hanley was charged with assault following his violent arrest of Rishod Gore, 28, on April 19
The head of a police oversight group released two videos of the arrest Tuesday
The videos show Sgt. Hanley dragging Rishod Gore out of his car, throwing him to the ground and handcuffing him
Hanley then knelt on Gore’s neck while punching and kicking him
Gore was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest but, those charges were ultimately dropped
Tuesday Hanley pled not guilty and the criminal case is still pending
Cops did not specify why Hanley tried to arrest Gore in the first place, only saying he was nearby when another man was arrested for a domestic dispute
New footage captured the moment a white Rhode police officer brutally attacked a black man during an arrest back in the spring.
Providence Police Sgt Joseph Hanley was charged with assault following his violent arrest of Rishod Gore, 28, on April 19. Hanley entered a not guilty and the case is still pending.
The head of the Providence External Review Authority (PERA), a civilian group which reviews police conduct, released two videos of the incident on Tuesday. One is from a police bodycam and the other was recorded by a witness.
The videos show Sgt. Hanley dragging Gore out of his car, throwing him to the ground and handcuffing him.
Hanley then proceeds to kneel on Gore’s neck while repeatedly punching and kicking him in the ribs and head, the videos show. The state attorney general’s office accused Hanley of those same actions in its criminal case against him.
Gore was originally charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, but those charges were ultimately dropped. He later reached a $50,000 settlement with the city.
Police have not said why the officers tried to arrest Gore in the first place. The only explanation offered is that he was at the scene where another man was arrested over a domestic dispute earlier that night.
The incident took place just a month before George Floyd, a black man, was killed when a white Minneapolis cop knelt on his neck during an arrest, sparking months of global protests, immortalizing the phrase ‘I can’t breathe’
PERA also released a second bystander video which showed Hanley kneeling on Gore. The executive director of PERA, Jose Batista, published the videos himself, noting that his own board had voted against their release to the public. City and state officials also opposed the move, according to WJAR.
But Batista, who was elected to Rhode Island House of Representatives last week, said he felt that the public needed to see the videos, even if it could lead to his firing.
‘I had positive and productive working relationships with almost everybody on the [PERA] board. But the more I advocated the release of this video, the worse those relationships began to deteriorate,’ Batista said at a press conference on Tuesday.
‘That is something that I think is unfortunate. And the people have a right to know how they are being policed and what happens as a consequence.’
At a press conference Tuesday Batista said he was frustrated that police had left his organization out of its investigation into Sgt Hanley’s conduct on the night he arrested Gore.
Police have revealed few details about what led up to the arrest in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Providence. They said officers had responded to a domestic dispute in Federal Hill and arrested another man from Woonsocket.
Gore was among the people present outside the building where the dispute took place when the Woonsocket man was taken into custody, police said.
Hanley and the other officers then found Gore in his car nearby, as seen in the bodycam video.
The video begins with three officers walking down a street and approaching a parked car with Gore sitting in passenger seat next to a woman in the driver’s seat.
Hanley is seen opening the front passenger door and reaching in to grab Gore’s wrist as another officer runs over to help him yank the man out of the car.
A struggle ensues for almost a minute before Gore is thrown to the ground and handcuffed.
Gore is heard asking: ‘Why you pullin’ me like this man?’, to which Hanley replies: ‘Shut up.’
Hanley is heard repeatedly telling Gore to shut up
Gore appears to try to get away before Hanley puts his knee into the man’s neck and kicks him in the side.
‘Okay, good? Shut up,’ Hanley says as he presses down on Gore’s neck three times before lifting his knee. ‘If you act like an animal, I’m going to [indistinguishable].’
Hanley stands up and calls into his radio as Gore lies completely still and asks: ‘Yo, what did I do? What did I do?’
Hanley again tells him to shut up and steps on the back of his legs.
Part of the video is too pixelated to see clearly, but PERA said it showed Hanley punching Gore’s ribs and kicking his head.
The officer wearing the body camera is seen lifting Gore off the ground and escorting him to a waiting police cruiser before the footage cuts off.
The second video recorded by a witness showed the same scene from above.
Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare called Batista’s decision to release the videos prior to the conclusion of Hanley’s criminal trial ‘disappointing’.
Pare also confirmed to WJAR that Hanley remains suspended without pay.
A union representing Providence police officers also condemned Batista’s actions.
‘The public release of the Joe Hanley video by the Executive Director of PERA, Jose Batista, clearly demonstrates how PERA…fails to act as and remain a neutral independent review board of Providence Police conduct,’ the union said.
‘The release of the video will now undoubtedly not only impede the ability of the Police Officer to receive a fair and impartial trial, but may impede the ability of the complainant to have his complaint properly adjudicated.’
Gore’s lawyer Georgi Vogel-Rosen told the Providence Journal: ‘Mr. Gore is eager to put this horrific incident behind him. He has resolved his legal claims with the city and looks forward to moving on with his life. He has no additional statement to make at this time.’
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